NB: Unfortunately the electronic course enrolment system does not allow us to run long enrolment periods. Thus, we have had to fool around with it a bit. The enrolment period for seminars will be from 9th May to 28th August, however, the system will at first indicate it as 9th May to 30th May. The enrolment period will be manually extended to 28th August at the end of May.

As a side effect of the aforementioned fooling around the start date for teaching will initially be displayed for June, however, teaching starts in September as it usually does.

Another side effet is that if you enrol after the initial 9.5.-30.5. enrolment period you will need to first enrol into the university for 2014-2015.

We apologize for any confusion caused by this arrangement.

Description of Professor Klemola's seminar (group 2)

Linguistics, especially language variation and change

My seminar is open for students interested in all kinds of linguistics topics. However, I would recommend the seminar especially for those students who are interested in corpus-based studies of variation and change in English. Possible seminar (and pro gradu) projects may focus, for example, on grammatical variation in regional varieties of English. The study of regional variation in English is facilitated by the recent International Corpus of English (ICE) family of corpora, which provide an easy access to a wide range of varieties of English from all over the English-speaking world.

The main task during the autumn term will be to write and present a research proposal (five to ten pages). In addition, each student will be expected to draft—in consultation with me—a personal study and research plan for the whole academic year. We will also focus on practical questions linked with writing a thesis, look at some examples of recent gradus completed in the English department, and read a number of articles linked with the topics you are working on.

During the spring term, each student will write a seminar paper (20+ pages), to be presented and discussed in the group. Ideally, the seminar paper will function as the first draft of your pro gradu thesis.

Description of Professor Pahta's seminar (group 3)

language in context, genre and discourse studies, applied linguistics

This seminar is primarily for students who are interested in analysing language in context, i.e. in relation to language-external factors. Their interests can relate, for example, to social or situational varieties of English, English as a global language, bi- and multilingualism, computer-mediated communication, or language use in the history of English. Students keen on topics in language learning and teaching are also welcome.

The seminar offers practical advice, guidance and support during the process of planning and writing the thesis, addressing each step in the research process. As working methods we will use collaborative group work, including discussions of relevant reading and the students' own projects, and a course diary.

During the first term, students are expected to produce a research proposal, specifying the main elements of their pro gradu thesis, to present it to the seminar group, and to start working on their thesis. In the second term, students continue to work on their thesis.

The aim during the seminar is to produce at least 3-4 draft chapters of the thesis, serving as “the seminar paper”, but it is highly recommended to try and finish at least a draft version of the entire thesis in the seminar. Towards the end of the seminar year, each student’s thesis draft is discussed in class.

To apply for a place, please act as instructed. If you want to start reading during the summer, please send an email to me as soon as possible to set up an appointment (paivi . pahta  @  uta . fi).

Description of Professor Rudanko's seminar (group 5)

Corpus-Based Approaches of Variation and Change in Recent English

During the coming academic year 2014/2015 I am planning to offer the following MA seminar (“pro gradu” thesis seminar): "Corpus-Based Studies of Variation and Change in English Complementation." The seminar is for corpus-based projects in complementation and grammar, with the focus on recent and current English. Projects may for instance focus on the grammar of an item (perhaps a suitable verb or adjective) or a construction as it has evolved from the eighteenth or nineteenth century to the present, either in British English or in American English (or both if appropriate). A large number of projects of this type have been successfully completed in the last few years, but there are still other good projects available.

               New electronic corpora, in addition to the BNC, have become available recently, making this an exciting area for thesis projects. For the study of complementation it is generally fairly easy to collect data from electronic corpora. I will help participants to devise suitable search strings for collecting data.

               Participants are expected to attend regularly and to write a proposal (at least five to ten pages) in the autumn, and a seminar paper (some twenty pages or more) in the spring. Longer contributions are very welcome in both terms. The purpose of the seminar is to help each participant to develop his/her project into a pro gradu thesis. It is not a requirement for participants to write a complete thesis in the course of the seminar, but this is the ideal outcome, and a number of participants have achieved it in recent years. This has been a source of satisfaction to them and to me.

               The seminar is planned for Wednesday evenings, from 6:05 to 7:35 p.m., seven meetings each term.

               To apply for a place, please act as instructed. Those who have already been in touch with me this spring, please also go through the formal application process. If I can help, my email address is: juhani.rudanko@uta.fi.

Juhani Rudanko